With October half-term sending families to airports, travel expert Ricky Durrance has a money-saving message, per a report originally published by Yahoo: a few simple checks before you book airport parking can stop you paying more than you need to.
The core advice, as reported, is to understand how your car park charges, plan around more than just your flight times, and add only a sensible buffer. Not a glamorous trio. But as holiday costs pile up, small timing slips can get expensive fast.
The Real Villain Is the Clock, Not the Car Park
It's easy to treat parking as the dull afterthought of a trip: flights booked, hotel sorted, car park chosen in a five-minute scroll. The timing is where the money quietly leaks away.
The coverage points to the same trouble spot: your flight time is not your parking time. Your car has to be in the car park before you board, and out of it after you land, with everything in between (check-in, transfers, getting home) stretching the window. Book only to the minute your plane lands and you may be paying for a lot more than you planned.
Know How Your Car Park Counts
The first check is how your chosen car park actually charges. The report angles around this include the difference between calendar-day and 24-hour parking, and it's a distinction worth pausing on.
As I read it, the logic works like this (my explanation, not a quoted rule): a 24-hour system counts from the moment you arrive, so being a little over can tip you into another day. A calendar-day system counts by the date on the clock, which is why a late-night return is its own hazard. If you land close to midnight and the car park counts by calendar day, crossing into the next date could mean an extra day on the bill. Check the terms of your specific car park rather than assuming either way.
Plan Beyond the Flight Times
This is the heart of Durrance's advice: build your real timeline, not the one on your boarding pass.
On the way out, think about when you actually need to be parked, not just when the plane leaves. On the way back, think about when you will realistically be driving away. Shuttle buses, which many airport car parks rely on, add time at both ends. So do any delays.
A quick way to do it, offered as a practical take rather than a quote from Durrance:
- Start with your scheduled landing time.
- Add time for getting off the plane and through the airport.
- Add the shuttle transfer to your car, if there is one.
- Check where that lands against the car park's day or 24-hour cutoff.
If that final number sits uncomfortably close to a cutoff, that's the moment to book the extra time deliberately, rather than discover it at the exit barrier.
Buffer, but Make It Sensible
The advice is not to book half a week of cushion "just in case." The word that matters is sensible. A modest buffer for a delayed flight or a slow shuttle makes sense, particularly with delays still a concern for travellers this season. An oversized one just means paying for time you don't use.
It's hard not to see the neat balance here: too tight and a late landing might cost you a day, too loose and you've paid for a day you never needed. The sweet spot is a realistic estimate plus a small margin.
A Quick Pre-Booking Checklist
Pulling the advice together into something you can run through before you hit "book":
- Check how the car park charges. Calendar day or 24 hours from arrival?
- Map your real timeline. Include check-in, shuttles and the journey home, not just flight times.
- Watch midnight returns. A late landing could push you into another day, depending on the car park's rules.
- Allow for the shuttle. Transfers eat into your window at both ends.
- Add a modest buffer. Enough for a delay, not a luxury extension.
The Takeaway
Parking rarely makes the highlight reel of a holiday, which is exactly why it's a good place to save money. Nobody has ever come home from a trip raving about the car park, but plenty have grumbled about the bill. Ten minutes of arithmetic before booking is a cheap way to make sure the most forgettable line on your travel budget stays that way.
